Why Latinos are disproportionately affected by asthma, and what we can do

This post was co-authored by EDF’s Rachel Shaffer and Declan
Kingland, National Health Programs Coordinator for the League of United Latin American
Citizens. Para leer en Españolhaga clic
aquí.

Today in the United States,
Latinos are three times more likely to die from asthma than other racial or ethnic groups. Latino children are 40 percent more likely to die from asthma
than non-Latino whites, and nearly 1 in 10 Latino children under the age of 18
suffer from this chronic
respiratory illness. Addressing the
dangerous indoor and outdoor air pollution that is linked to asthma is critical
for the health of Latino communities – and for all Americans.

Socio-economics

Latinos are one of the poorest
demographics in the United States, with roughly 1 in 4 Latinos living under the poverty level. Many Latinos also face challenges due to limited
English-language proficiency, and in some cases, low levels of education. These issues can lead Latinos, particularly
new immigrants, to low-paying jobs, often in the fields of agriculture,
construction, and service. Too often,
these jobs expose workers to serious respiratory hazards from both indoor and
outdoor air pollution, yet they frequently provide no healthcare benefits. For example, the toxic chemical formaldehyde, which is linked to asthma,
can
be found in glues, insulation, and wood products to which construction
workers are disproportionately exposed. Asthma-related toxics
can also be found in paints, cleaning products, carpets, and foam cushions.

Housing

Low-paying jobs held by Latinos lead
to low-income families, and these families can be at even greater risk for
asthma if their housing is substandard or if their home is located near major
roadways, factories, or power plants, which produce air pollutants that can
exacerbate asthma. People with asthma
are especially sensitive to the pollutants released from cars,
buses, heavy machinery, factories, and power plants, including particulate
matter (soot), ground-level ozone (smog), carbon monoxide, and more.

Nearly 1 in 2 Latinos in the U.S.
live in counties that frequently violate
ground-level ozone standards. Latinos are also 165% more likely to live in counties with unhealthy levels of particulate matter
pollution than non-Latino whites, and nearly 2 in 5 Latinos lives within 30 miles of a power plant. Asthma triggers can also be found inside the home
– from ethanolamines found in
cleaning products, to bisphenol-A (BPA),
a toxic chemical found in plastic products and food can linings. Some asthma-linked toxic chemicals are even
found in
personal creams and lotions.

Healthcare

Statistics show that Latinos
face disproportionate exposures to asthma-exacerbating indoor and outdoor air
pollution. At the same time, Latinos
face added challenges when seeking adequate healthcare. This is due in part to the language,
educational, and economic barriers mentioned previously, which can limit access
to or awareness of available healthcare resources that may be available. In fact, nearly 1 in 3 Latinos lacks health insurance.

These barriers to health care
access can have significant consequences:

Compared to non-Latino whites, Latinos with
asthma are less likely to be prescribed appropriate
asthma medications and less likely
to have access to asthma specialists.

Latinos who have an asthma emergency that sends
them to the ER or hospital are also less likely to receive follow-up care or an
asthma action plan.

Combined, these serious issues
can make an otherwise manageable disease life-threatening.

What we can do

While these challenges are
daunting, we have an opportunity to address part of the problem by demanding
that our leaders take action to reduce asthma hazards – for Latinos, and for the nation as a whole. This is why EDF and the League of United Latin
American Citizens (LULAC) have come together
this year to help raise awareness among and empower Latinos in the U.S. to
better combat this often preventable illness by strengthening the air pollution
and chemicals laws that protect us.

We at EDF and at LULAC encourage
you to ask your Congressman to:

support
reforms that strengthen federal chemicals regulatory policies and

support
the US Environmental Protection Agency in its efforts to clean up our air and limit pollutants that cause climate
change and increase the number of asthma
attacks.

Nationwide, Latinos are among the
25
million people – including 7 million children – affected by asthma. We can help address the immediate problem
through other avenues – like improving health care coverage or worker
protections. But ultimately, we need to
address the root of the problem. We need
to get rid of the air pollution and toxins that are linked to asthma. All of us, including our Latino communities,
should act now to get rid of the underlying causes of the disease. Until we do,
we are all at risk.

Lucía Oliva Hennelly

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Comments

Rosa Ríos-Rey

April 24, 2014at 12:24 am (ET)

Could it be a genetic predisposition or some cultural issue? Several members of my family including myself and my two daughters and my son developed allergies and asthma-like symptoms while studying in the US. As soon as I came back home the symptoms dissapeared; the same happened to my family. We lived in a supposedly healthy upper-middle class neighborhood. Back home, We have always lived in the country and in the most holistic and natural way possible. Maybe our enviroment is cleaner being more rustic and rural and harsh chemicals in building, cleaning and other materials are too much for Us Hispanics?